MCP Telegram

📖 Documentation · ☁️ Cloud version — connect Telegram to Claude.ai or ChatGPT in 30 seconds with QR code, no API keys needed.

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that connects AI assistants like Claude to Telegram via the MTProto protocol. Unlike bots, this runs as a userbot -- it operates under your personal Telegram account using GramJS, giving full access to your chats, contacts, and message history.

Features

• Comprehensive tool coverage -- the most full-featured Telegram MCP server available (80+ tools)

• MTProto protocol -- direct Telegram API access, not the limited Bot API

• Userbot -- operates as your personal account, not a bot

• Full-featured -- messaging, reactions, polls, scheduled messages, stickers, media, contacts, and more

• Forum Topics -- list topics, read per-topic messages, send to specific topics, per-topic unread counts

• Stickers -- search sticker sets, browse installed/recent stickers, send stickers to any chat

• Account & profile management -- update profile, set emoji status, birthday, personal channel, profile photo, manage privacy settings, sessions, auto-delete timers

• Global search -- search messages across all chats at once

• Real-time polling -- fetch updates via stateless cursors; agent owns {pts, qts, date} state

• Inline bots & buttons -- query inline bots, send results, press callback buttons

• Stories -- read stories from peers, get story view stats; publish/edit/delete stories, react, pin, stealth mode, archive, report (v1.30.0)

• Discussion -- get discussion-group info for channel posts with comments, list groups eligible for discussion (v1.30.0)

• Read Receipts -- who read a message in a small group, when your private message was read (v1.30.0)

• Admin controls -- toggle channel signatures, anti-spam, forum mode, prehistory; approve join requests

• Stats -- channel and supergroup analytics (GetBroadcastStats / GetMegagroupStats)

• Boosts & Business -- boost status, boosters list, Telegram Business chat links CRUD, work hours, location, greeting/away/intro messages

• QR code login -- authenticate by scanning a QR code in the Telegram app

• Session persistence -- login once, stay connected across restarts

• Human-readable output -- sender names are resolved, not just numeric IDs

• Works with any MCP client -- Claude Code, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, Mastra, etc.

Related MCP server: MCP-Telegram

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or later

• Telegram API credentials -- API_ID and API_HASH from my.telegram.org

Quick Start

1. Get Telegram API credentials

1. Go to my.telegram.org and log in with your phone number.

2. Navigate to API development tools.

3. Create a new application (any name and platform).

4. Copy the App api_id and App api_hash.

2. Login

TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH npx @overpod/mcp-telegram login

A QR code will appear in the terminal. Open Telegram on your phone, go to Settings > Devices > Link Desktop Device, and scan the code. The session is saved to ~/.mcp-telegram/session and reused automatically.

Custom session path: set TELEGRAM_SESSION_PATH=/path/to/session to store the session file elsewhere.

3. Add to Claude

claude mcp add telegram -s user \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH \
  -- npx @overpod/mcp-telegram

That's it! Ask Claude to run telegram-status to verify.

Multiple Accounts

Use TELEGRAM_SESSION_PATH to run separate Telegram accounts side by side:

# Login each account with a unique session path
TELEGRAM_API_ID=ID1 TELEGRAM_API_HASH=HASH1 TELEGRAM_SESSION_PATH=~/.mcp-telegram/session-work npx @overpod/mcp-telegram login
TELEGRAM_API_ID=ID2 TELEGRAM_API_HASH=HASH2 TELEGRAM_SESSION_PATH=~/.mcp-telegram/session-personal npx @overpod/mcp-telegram login

Then add each as a separate MCP server:

claude mcp add telegram-work -s user \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_ID=ID1 \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_HASH=HASH1 \
  -e TELEGRAM_SESSION_PATH=~/.mcp-telegram/session-work \
  -- npx @overpod/mcp-telegram

claude mcp add telegram-personal -s user \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_ID=ID2 \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_HASH=HASH2 \
  -e TELEGRAM_SESSION_PATH=~/.mcp-telegram/session-personal \
  -- npx @overpod/mcp-telegram

Each account gets its own session file — no conflicts.

Multiple agents / concurrent clients (shared daemon)

The opposite of multiple accounts: one account driven by many clients at once — several Claude Code windows, parallel sub-agents, or multiple IDEs. Normally each process opens the same session and they evict one another with AUTH_KEY_DUPLICATED. Serve mode fixes this.

Run a single persistent daemon that owns the one Telegram connection. Every other process auto-detects the daemon (via a PID lock) and becomes a thin client that proxies tool calls to it over a local Unix socket:

# On the host, once: start the daemon (owns the connection, no stdio)
TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH mcp-telegram serve
# (or set MCP_TELEGRAM_DAEMON=1 instead of the `serve` argument)

Then point each MCP client at the same install with the same TELEGRAM_SESSION_PATH — no serve argument. They connect to the daemon automatically; closing any client never drops the shared connection. Credentials are only required by the daemon (the owner), so client commands can omit TELEGRAM_API_ID/TELEGRAM_API_HASH and keep them where the daemon runs.

See the shared daemon guide for a systemd unit and SSH usage.

Proxy Support

If Telegram is blocked or you're running in a containerized environment (Docker, K3s), use a SOCKS5 or MTProxy:

# SOCKS5 proxy
TELEGRAM_PROXY_IP=127.0.0.1 \
TELEGRAM_PROXY_PORT=10808 \
npx @overpod/mcp-telegram

# MTProxy
TELEGRAM_PROXY_IP=proxy.example.com \
TELEGRAM_PROXY_PORT=443 \
TELEGRAM_PROXY_SECRET=ee00000000000000000000000000000000 \
npx @overpod/mcp-telegram

Connecting via WSS (port 443)

If your VPS or hosting IP is reachable on outbound port 443 but not the default MTProto port 80 (some cloud providers ban port 80 on Telegram DC IP ranges as anti-abuse policy), set:

TELEGRAM_USE_WSS=true npx @overpod/mcp-telegram

Installation Options

npx (recommended, zero install)

No need to clone or install anything. Just use npx @overpod/mcp-telegram.

Global install

npm install -g @overpod/mcp-telegram
mcp-telegram          # run server
mcp-telegram login    # QR login

Pre-built binary (no runtime needed)

Download from Releases — standalone single-file binaries, zero dependencies:

# Download (example for Linux x64)
curl -L -o mcp-telegram https://github.com/mcp-telegram/mcp-telegram/releases/latest/download/mcp-telegram-linux-x64
curl -L -o mcp-telegram-login https://github.com/mcp-telegram/mcp-telegram/releases/latest/download/mcp-telegram-login-linux-x64
chmod +x mcp-telegram mcp-telegram-login

# Login
TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH ./mcp-telegram-login

# Run
./mcp-telegram

From source

git clone https://github.com/mcp-telegram/mcp-telegram.git
cd mcp-telegram
npm install && npm run build

Docker

docker build -t mcp-telegram https://github.com/mcp-telegram/mcp-telegram.git

Login (interactive terminal required):

docker run -it --rm \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH \
  -v ~/.mcp-telegram:/root/.mcp-telegram \
  --entrypoint node mcp-telegram dist/qr-login-cli.js

Run the MCP server:

docker run -i --rm \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH \
  -v ~/.mcp-telegram:/root/.mcp-telegram \
  mcp-telegram

Note: Login must be done once via terminal. After that, the session is persisted in ~/.mcp-telegram and reused automatically.

Usage with MCP Clients

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add telegram -s user \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID \
  -e TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH \
  -- npx @overpod/mcp-telegram

Claude Desktop

1. Open your config file:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add the Telegram server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "telegram": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@overpod/mcp-telegram"],
      "env": {
        "TELEGRAM_API_ID": "YOUR_ID",
        "TELEGRAM_API_HASH": "YOUR_HASH"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop.

4. Ask Claude: "Run telegram-login" -- a QR code will appear. If the image is not visible, it's also saved to ~/.mcp-telegram/qr-login.png. Scan it in Telegram (Settings > Devices > Link Desktop Device).

5. Ask Claude: "Run telegram-status" to verify the connection.

Note: No terminal required! Login works entirely through Claude Desktop.

Claude Desktop (Binary)

Same setup, but using the pre-built binary instead of npx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "telegram": {
      "command": "/path/to/mcp-telegram",
      "env": {
        "TELEGRAM_API_ID": "YOUR_ID",
        "TELEGRAM_API_HASH": "YOUR_HASH"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (Docker)

1. Login via terminal first (see Docker section above).

2. Add to your config file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "telegram": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "TELEGRAM_API_ID=YOUR_ID",
        "-e", "TELEGRAM_API_HASH=YOUR_HASH",
        "-v", "~/.mcp-telegram:/root/.mcp-telegram",
        "mcp-telegram"
      ]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop. Ask Claude: "Run telegram-status" to verify.

Cursor / VS Code

Add the same JSON config above to your MCP settings (Cursor Settings > MCP, or VS Code MCP config).

Mastra

import { MCPClient } from "@mastra/mcp";

const telegramMcp = new MCPClient({
  id: "telegram-mcp",
  servers: {
    telegram: {
      command: "npx",
      args: ["@overpod/mcp-telegram"],
      env: {
        TELEGRAM_API_ID: process.env.TELEGRAM_API_ID!,
        TELEGRAM_API_HASH: process.env.TELEGRAM_API_HASH!,
      },
    },
  },
});

Tools

All tools are auto-discoverable via MCP — your AI client will see the full list with parameters and descriptions when connected.

Tip: Ask your AI assistant "What Telegram tools are available?" to get the full list with parameters and descriptions.

Optional Features

Some tools are disabled by default and must be opted in via environment variables:

Add these to your .env file or MCP client config to enable them.

Development

npm run dev        # Start with file watching (tsx)
npm start          # Start the MCP server
npm run login      # QR code login in terminal
npm run build      # Compile TypeScript
npm run lint       # Check code with Biome
npm run lint:fix   # Auto-fix lint issues
npm run format     # Format code with Biome

Project Structure

src/
  index.ts            -- MCP server entry point
  telegram-client.ts  -- TelegramService class (GramJS wrapper)
  qr-login-cli.ts     -- CLI utility for QR code login
  tools/              -- Modular tool definitions
    auth.ts           -- Connection & login
    messages.ts       -- Send, read, search, edit, delete, forward; inline bots; real-time polling
    chats.ts          -- Chat listing, group management, admin toggles, stats
    contacts.ts       -- Contacts, profiles, moderation
    media.ts          -- Files, photos, downloads
    reactions.ts      -- Reactions, set-chat-reactions
    extras.ts         -- Pin, schedule, polls, topics
    stickers.ts       -- Sticker sets, send, search, browse
    account.ts        -- Sessions, privacy, auto-delete, profile, emoji status, birthday, chat mute/folders, invite links
    business.ts       -- Telegram Business: chat links CRUD, work hours, location, greeting/away/intro
    boosts.ts         -- Boost status, my boosts, boosters list
    stories.ts        -- Stories: list all, peer, by-id, view stats
    group-calls.ts    -- Group call info and participants (opt-in: MCP_TELEGRAM_ENABLE_GROUP_CALLS)
    stars.ts          -- Stars wallet status and transactions (opt-in: MCP_TELEGRAM_ENABLE_STARS)
    quick-replies.ts  -- Quick replies and messages (opt-in: MCP_TELEGRAM_ENABLE_QUICK_REPLIES)
    shared.ts         -- Shared utilities

Tech Stack

• TypeScript -- ES2022, ESM modules

• GramJS (telegram) -- Telegram MTProto client

• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk -- MCP server framework

• Zod -- Runtime schema validation for tool parameters

• Biome -- Linter and formatter

• tsx -- TypeScript execution without a build step

• dotenv -- Environment variable management

Troubleshooting

AUTH_KEY_DUPLICATED

A Telegram session can only be used by one process at a time. If you get AUTH_KEY_DUPLICATED, it means another process is already using the same session file.

Solution: Create separate sessions for each environment:

# Local development
TELEGRAM_SESSION_PATH=~/.mcp-telegram/session-local npx @overpod/mcp-telegram login

# Production server
TELEGRAM_SESSION_PATH=~/.mcp-telegram/session-prod npx @overpod/mcp-telegram login

Then set TELEGRAM_SESSION_PATH in each environment's MCP config accordingly.

Security

• API credentials are stored in .env (gitignored)

• Session is stored in ~/.mcp-telegram/session with 0600 permissions (owner-only access)

• Session directory is created with 0700 permissions

• Phone number is not required -- QR-only authentication

• No data is sent to third-party services -- all communication goes directly to Telegram servers via MTProto

• QR login codes are generated locally and never leave your machine

• One session per process -- using the same session in multiple processes simultaneously causes AUTH_KEY_DUPLICATED errors (see Troubleshooting)

• This is a userbot (personal account), not a bot -- respect the Telegram Terms of Service

License

MIT